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PCA

In case you missed it, here are some of the top food safety stories from last week: PCA Sentencing: Stewart Parnell, former CEO of the now-defunct Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), was sentenced to 28 years in prison on Sept. 21. His peanut-broker brother, Michael Parnell, got 20 years, and former PCA Quality Assurance Manager Mary… Continue Reading

Since the sentencing of the Peanut Corporation of America criminal cases, some may be wondering if anything has really changed. The longest prison sentences ever handed out for food safety violations would, on the surface, appear to be a new bright line for food manufacturers. But, on closer look, maybe not. Food manufacturers have long… Continue Reading

Kenneth Kendrick, missing Monday from the federal courthouse in Albany, GA, did not hear the praise that came from a witness during a pivotal day in the world of food safety. Kendrick is a former assistant plant manager of the Plainview, Texas, peanut processing facility once owned by the now-defunct Peanut Corporation of America (PCA)…. Continue Reading

Guilty! The perpetrator of the 2008-09 Salmonella outbreak, Stewart Parnell of the Peanut Corporation of America, just received a 28-year sentence for knowingly distributing Salmonella-containing peanuts. The familiar refrain will be that this is evidence that our food safety system is broken. But those who believe that the response in 2010, the Food Safety Modernization… Continue Reading

Michael Parnell’s defense attorney is painting his client as a “little guy” who “lost it all.” I would dare Parnell and his defense team, and the other convicted former Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) executives, to stand before the families of the nine people who died as a result of their actions and try to… Continue Reading

In a legal move that, if successful, could significantly reduce sentences for Stewart and Michael Parnell, defense attorneys in the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) criminal case have presented arguments that individual victims of an outbreak of foodborne illness are not “crime victims” under federal law. The sentencing recommendation that could see Stewart Parnell spending the… Continue Reading

Lung cancer and a brain tumor didn’t kill my mother — Salmonella-contaminated peanut butter did. My friends and family mourned her passing, but we resolved to try to fix the system that ultimately allowed irresponsible food manufacturers to ship tainted peanut products nationwide, sickening more than 700 people and killing nine. In February 2009, I testified… Continue Reading

Stewart Parnell should be sentenced to life in prison, Michael Parnell to 17.5-21.8 years in prison, and Mary Wilkerson to 8-10 years in prison, according to recommendations from the U.S. Probation Office. U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys say those recommendations have been “correctly calculated.” Speaking for Stewart Parnell’s defense team, Atlanta attorney Ken Hodges called… Continue Reading